The Medical Aid in Dying Act became law on February 6, 2026, and will be effective in New York State on August 5, 2026. The act allows terminally ill New Yorkers to obtain life-ending medication from their physicians to peacefully end their lives in the face of end-stage illness.
Physicians, health care providers, and pharmacists are not required to participate in the provision of life-ending medication to the patient. Any patient intending to make a request under the Medical Aid in Dying Act should discuss with their health care providers whether the providers are able to assist with the request or if they can otherwise provide a referral to a health care provider who can.
Eligibility
A patient is eligible to make a request to their physician for life-ending medication only if they meet the following criteria:
- Two physicians determine that the patient has a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months.
- The patient must have the mental capacity to voluntarily request the medication from the patient’s physician based on an informed decision.
- The patient must be able to self-administer the medication.
A patient must make this request personally. No other individual, including the patient’s health care agent or guardian, can make this request on the patient’s behalf. Further, the patient cannot make this request by advance health care directive.
Requests Under the Medical Aid in Dying Act
Written Request. A patient must make a written request to the patient’s physician. The statute provides a standardized form for the written request, and it must be witnessed by two independent adults. The witnesses cannot be (1) related to the patient, (2) an heir of the patient either by will or intestacy, (3) affiliated with the patient’s health care facility, (4) a domestic partner of the patient, or (5) the patient’s agent under a health care proxy or power of attorney.
Oral Request. The patient must also make an oral request to this physician for the life-ending medication. The oral request must be recorded by audio or video.
Mental Health Evaluation. The new law states that if any physician working with the patient determines that the patient may lack decision-making authority, the physician must refer the patient to a mental health professional who will determine whether the patient has the capacity to make an informed decision under the law. The governor’s office has indicated that a mental health evaluation may become mandatory before a patient is eligible for life-ending medication.
Determination of Eligibility. Two physicians must confirm that the patient is eligible for life-ending medication under the Medical Aid in Dying Act: the patient’s attending physician and a consulting physician.
Physician Counseling. The attending physician must counsel the patient, specifically reviewing the patient’s diagnosis; the results of taking the medication as prescribed; the possibility of obtaining the medication but choosing not to administer it; and alternative treatment options, such as hospice and palliative care. The physician must also offer the patient the opportunity to rescind the request while making it clear that the request can be rescinded at any time.
Waiting Period. After the steps above have been completed, the physician may write a prescription for the life-ending medication. However, there is a five-day waiting period between the date the physician writes the prescription and the date it can be filled.
Administering the Life-Ending Medication. The patient must administer the medication independently and cannot be assisted by a health care provider or any other individual. A patient typically passes within three hours of administering the life-ending medication, but it may take longer.
Protections and Immunities for Physicians and Health Care Facilities
When acting within the bounds of the law, the Medical Aid in Dying Act shields health care providers and other persons involved in the process from civil, administrative, and criminal liability and penalty as well as professional disciplinary action and employment, credentialing, or contractual liability or penalty. These protections apply if the provider or other person acts—or refuses to act—in good faith and without negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct.
The act sets forth a non-exhaustive list of circumstances that fall within its protections. Specifically, providers, pharmacists, health care facilities, and others involved in the process are protected when:
- Engaging in discussions with a patient relating to the risks and benefits of end-of-life options.
- Providing a patient, upon request, with a referral to another health care provider.
- Being present when a patient self-administers life-ending medication.
- Refraining from acting to prevent the patient from self-administering such medication.
- Refraining from acting to resuscitate the patient after they self-administer such medication (when working at a facility that has a prohibition, as noted below, refraining from acting to resuscitate may result in sanctions or other disciplinary action by the facility).
Permissible Refusals and Prohibitions
The law respects the conscience and institutional policies of those who choose not to engage in activities related to medical aid in dying. These permissible refusals extend to both individual providers and health care facilities.
Individual health care professionals, such as physicians, pharmacists, and nurses, have the right to refuse to participate in any activities authorized by the Medical Aid in Dying Act. This includes prescribing or dispensing the medication, conducting eligibility assessments, or witnessing requests. Providers cannot face civil, criminal, or professional sanctions for declining to participate but may need to facilitate timely transfers of medical records or provide referrals to willing providers to ensure the patient’s request can proceed.
Religious and morally affiliated health care organizations (e.g., hospitals, nursing homes, hospices) are permitted to adopt formal policies prohibiting their participation in medical aid in dying. These policies must be based on sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions central to the facility’s operating principles, officially documented, and timely communicated to patients and staff.
Facilities with non-participation policies may prohibit their employees or affiliated professionals from engaging in activities authorized by the act while on facility premises or acting within their roles tied to the facility. For example, a hospital could disallow a staff physician from prescribing aid-in-dying medication within its facility. Such a facility must have protocols for transferring patients requesting aid-in-dying services to willing facilities or providers to ensure the patient’s access to the process without significant delays.
New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act provides robust protections to encourage compliance while safeguarding the moral, ethical, or religious convictions of health care providers and institutions that choose not to participate. Health care professionals and facilities should ensure they understand the scope of these provisions, including documentation and transfer obligations, to avoid unintended liabilities while exercising their rights under the Medical Aid in Dying Act.
If you have any questions about the content of this alert, please contact Kaitlynn Chopra, associate, at kchopra@barclaydamon.com; Ron Oakes, associate, at roakes@barclaydamon.com; Jen Flannery, Trusts & Estates Practice Area co-chair, at jflannery@barclaydamon.com; Karen Schaefer, Trusts & Estates Practice Area co-chair, at kschaefer@barclaydamon.com; Margaret Surowka, Health Care Team co-leader, at msurowka@barclaydamon.com; Melissa Zambri, Health Care Team co-leader, at mzambri@barclaydamon.com; or another member of the firm’s Trusts & Estates Practice Area or Health Care Team.